By Thomas TracyA judge slapped a male prostitute convicted of stabbing WABC newscaster George Weber 50 times during a kinky sex romp with a 25-years-to-life sentence, guaranteeing that the 19-year-old won’t come out of prison until after well after his 40th birthday.
Judge Neil Firetog meted out the maximum sentence against defendant John Katehis during a brief court appearance on Tuesday — but not before Weber’s family forgave the teen for committing the bloody crime.
“I have no hatred [for what you did],” Jason Hannas, Weber’s brother-in-law told Katehis.
But Hannas’s forgiveness wasn’t free: in return for his clemency, he wanted to know why Katehis murdered his in-law — something his two young children have been wondering since the March, 2009, slaying at the victim’s Carroll Gardens home.
“John, you are the only one who has the answer they seek,” Hannas explained. “[Maybe] you killed for fun, or because you could — that’s a very hard answer to give a 5-year-old.”
Katehis had no answers as he apologized for his actions.
“For the death of George Weber, I am sorry,” the teen said. “I regret it.”
Prosecutors say Katehis met Weber through a Craigslist ad and agreed to come to the older man’s apartment on Henry Street between Carroll and President streets, with the intention of being paid for sex.
Several hours later, Weber was found dead. Cops quickly captured Katehis.
Katehis said that things got out of control when Weber pulled a knife.
“I got paranoid. I went to grab the knife; he was supposed to be smothered, not [do] something with a knife,” Katehis said in a videotaped confession before pointing to his throat. “The knife just goes in and jabs him in the neck.”
Katehis claimed he stabbed Weber once, but a city medical examiner determined that the newscaster had been stabbed dozens of times.
The teen’s attorneys claimed that Katehis was defending himself after Weber plied him with booze and cocaine — and then demanded rough sex. Their strategy worked in the first trial — which ended in a hung jury after two and a half days of deliberation.
The second time around, though, it took less than a day for a new jury to find Katehis guilty.
Cinema owner pleads guilty
The former owner of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema pleaded guilty on Monday to scamming investors out of $530,000 — rolling the credits on a local drama fit for the multiplex he once owned.
Ponzi schemer Norman Adie confessed that he promised victims that he would build condos over his Henry Street theater, but instead pocketed the cash for personal expenses and other projects.
He faces an 80-year sentence when he returns to Manhattan federal court on April 13, but it will likely be reduced to 27 to 33 months, his attorney said.
Prosecutors say that Adie began duping people in 2007. He even collected $280,000 from one investor and shuffled the cash between bank accounts used by the theater and two of his troubled screens in Pennsylvania.
Then, in pure Ponzi scheme fashion, Adie managed to return some of the money to his victims, though it was peanuts compared to what he promised.
The feds busted Adie last year, charging him with securities and wire fraud.
But the quirky cinema got a happy ending.
This summer, local musician and left-wing hero Kenn Lowy bought the tumbledown 150-seat movie house and is transforming it into a hub for music, art and comedy shows, in addition to indie flicks.
— with Kate Briquelet
Reach reporter Thomas Tracy at ttracy@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2525.
